The Love Song
by ATX
Summary: Happy Holidays! My present to you is CH 8-9. Alternate Universe. What if Scully moved in next door to Mulder when they were 17? Loosely based on
1. Ouch!

Disclaimer: Ok people, let's run through it again, shall we? I. Do. Not. Own. These. Characters. Or. The. Song. At. The. End. Of. This. Work. Of. Fiction.  
  
Author's Note: This is alternate universe. A what if kinda thing. It's also a really really really long song fic. I know those are normally short, but this one just started growing. I would call it loosely based on the song.  
  
The Love Song  
  
"Hey Fox, there's a new family moving in next door," Samantha Mulder shouted as she threw open her older brother's bedroom door and dumped her tennis gear on the floor, kicking off her white tennis shoes.  
  
"Sam, get your stuff off my floor," Fox said distractedly as he read through the text in his psychology book. "When are they gonna be here?"  
  
"They're here now. Mom and Dad took them on downtown and to dinner. They'll be back in a few hours. They left their kids here and one of them is your age. It's a girl." Fox ignored her last comment. She came over and sat on the edge of his bed, looking over his shoulder as he scribbled notes on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Homework."  
  
"Fox, its July. We don't have homework. You should be outside coaching your little league team for their game next week."  
  
"We had practice yesterday and they're ready. I'm just getting a head start on for when school starts next month. Dad gave me his old book from college. Phew, Sam, you smell like a garbage can. Take a shower."  
  
"Ok, ok." Samantha got up and gathered up her tennis gear, but accidentally missed one of her tennis shoes.  
  
"Hey Muffin Brain, you forgot one of your shoes!" Fox called out as he jotted down a few more notes.  
  
"I'll get it in a minute Alien Freak, I just stepped into the shower like you commanded me to," Samantha shouted. The bathroom was right next to Fox's room and as she spoke he heard the water turn on. A few seconds later he heard the opening chords from her favorite CD through the wall.  
  
"She must have brought her boom box in there again," he thought. It was only a matter of time before.  
  
"Bye, bye, bye!" Samantha started singing along with the CD. Fox groaned and shut his textbook, unable to concentrate with the yowling coming from the bathroom. He decided to at least get a look at the neighbors before returning to his isolated world.  
  
"Hey Sam, I'm going to check out the new neighbors," he called out as he walked past the bathroom door.  
  
"OK!" Samantha yelled over the music.  
  
Fox rolled his eyes and opened the front door before running into smack into the screen door. He kept on forgetting that it was there. His father had just put it in last week. After managing to get out on the front porch he stopped suddenly once again as he saw his new neighbors, or rather one neighbor in particular.  
  
All four kids were playing basketball in the cove. The boy that held the ball looked about 24 and the girl who was guarding him looked around 20. The youngest boy looked about 14, but they weren't whom he noticed. The girl who was guarding the 14 year old was dressed in cutoff shorts and a red halter-top. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she was barefoot. When she turned towards him and caught his gaze, her smile seemed to slow time. She turned her attention back to the game and time resumed its normal course. She must be the one Samantha was talking about, he thought. She was short, but she looked around 17. His age.  
  
Just then the oldest boy tried to the throw the ball to the younger one, but over shot. The ball bounced down the street before coming to rest in the large bushes in front of Fox's house.  
  
"I'll get it!" yelled the pretty girl who caught Fox's eye. She jogged over and smiled apologetically at Fox. "I'm sorry. I'll just get it out and." She bent down and crawled in to where the ball was hidden.  
  
"I wouldn't do that. There're wasps and ants in there." Fox said hurriedly as he scrambled over the railing and directly into the bushes next to her.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry," said Fox, thinking he'd stepped on her.  
  
"No, something stung me. There's ants everywhere!" Fox helped her out of the bushes and saw ants crawling all over her legs and a large bump on her neck where the wasp had stung her.  
  
"Dana?" called the boy from the cove. All three of them started running over. Fox grabbed Dana and dragged her into the house. They ran down the hall and Fox banged on the bathroom door.  
  
"Samantha get your butt our of the shower NOW! This is an emergency."  
  
Samantha opened the door with a towel wrapped around her. She had an annoyed expression on her face, but when she saw Dana and her ant collection, she pulled her into the bathroom and slammed the door.  
  
"Strip," she commanded as she turned on the shower. Dana obliged and Sam shoved her into the cold spray. All the ants were washed away and angry red welts were popping up all over her legs and arms. "Are you allergic to ants or wasps stings?" Samantha asked as she rummaged through the medicine cabinet for first aid cream.  
  
"I don't know. I've never been bitten this bad before and I've only been stung by a wasp once before." Dana was shivering in the cold water and turned it off. Samantha tossed her a large blue terrycloth robe.  
  
"Its Fox's, so I imagine it'll be big on you."  
  
Dana pulled it on and sat down on the edge of the tub. A few seconds later there was a cry of triumph from Samantha as she found what she was looking for. Before she could walk over to see Dana's wounds, there was an insistent knock on the door.  
  
"Dana?" came a woman's voice.  
  
"That's my sister Melissa," said Dana. "You can let her in."  
  
Samantha opened the door and let in Melissa who quickly came over to her younger sister. "Dana are you alright? Charlie went to go call Mom and Dad and Bill's out in the hall with that boy who brought you in."  
  
"Fox, his name is Fox," said Samantha. She gently moved Melissa out of the way and came over to Dana who was shivering, despite having dried out. "Let me see your legs."  
  
Dana moved the robe of her legs and Samantha and Melissa gasped. Her legs were swollen and red and they looked infected already. Her teeth chattered and she started shaking. "Missy, I. I think I'm going into shock." Since Dana was the one studying for medical school, Melissa wasn't about to contradict her.  
  
"Quick, get my brother! The hospital is only ten minutes away from here. He can get her there faster in his truck than if we called 911." Samantha said.  
  
Melissa went out into the hall, but Fox and her brother were no longer there. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and she ran down the hall. "Bill, Fox, Dana's gone into shock. I think she's having an allergic reaction."  
  
Quickly the two young men made their way into the bathroom where Samantha was wrapping blankets around a barely conscious Dana. "She's in a bad way, Fox. You need to hurry."  
  
Tenderly Fox lifted Dana in his arms and began carrying her out to his truck. Bill, Melissa, Charlie, and Samantha, now dressed in a bathrobe, followed him out. Bill began to protest when Fox got into the car after he put Dana in the passenger seat. "I think I should go with you. I'm the oldest family member present and I'll be the only one who can fill out her forms."  
  
Fox shook his head no. "There's only room for two in here."  
  
"So let me drive."  
  
"But I'm the one who knows where the hospital. Look, I'm sure my parent's will take your parents straight to the hospital and you can meet up with them later, but right now I need to get your sister to a doctor."  
  
"Bill," said Melissa softly as she laid a hand on his arm. He looked at her before turning his gaze to Fox and then his baby sister. She opened her eyes and whispered, "I'll be fine Bill, but we need to go." Reluctantly Bill nodded and Fox put the truck into gear. As the car faded from view, Charlie, who had been unusually silent during everything, said, "She'll be ok with him Bill. I can feel it."  
  
Bill looked over at his younger brother and smiled faintly, but inside he still had his doubts about this Fox Mulder character. He didn't trust him for some reason.  
  
"I'm going inside to change. You all can come in if you want." Samantha turned and went inside the house, shutting the screen door, but leaving the inner door open.  
  
------------------ Comments? Questions? Praise? You know what to do. I just realized that in practically all of my fics Scully gets bashed really hard and I nearly always start out with Mulder. I find that weird because I really do like Scully's character and I'm usually really nervous about portraying Mulder. Oh well. enough rambling. ~ATX~ 


	2. Take Me To Your Leader

Thanks to all my reviewers! Means a lot. I do realize that Scully is younger that Mulder, but for the sake of this story they're the same age. After all, it is an alternate universe. :) ~ATX~  
  
*************************  
  
Darkness shrouded her; no light emerged in the stillness. Then a sound reverberated in her ears. She opened her eyes and quickly shut them again when the light pierced through her dilated pupils. "Mom?" she asked groggily as she squinted through the daylight streaming in through the hospital window.  
  
Margaret Scully stepped further into the room and came to stand beside her daughter's bed. "Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like he- heck," she said, catching herself before she swore in front of her mother. Her almost slip still earned her a Look from her mother. "What happened? The last thing I remember was that boy bringing me into the emergency waiting room and being put on a gurney."  
  
"You went into anaphylactic shock. You must have passed out on the way to the emergency room."  
  
"Oh. How's Bill doing? He seemed pretty mad that he couldn't come with us to the hospital."  
  
"He's at home with Charlie and Melissa and your father are both running errands for me."  
  
"Oh." She nodded her head and looked around the room, and thought about how much she hated the stark whiteness of hospital rooms. 'Not a good thing if you want to be a doctor,' she thought to herself. "So when can I get out of here?" she asked aloud.  
  
"The doctors said they want to keep you here overnight just to make sure that you don't have a reaction to the medicine they're giving you."  
  
"Oh," she said for the third time. There was a slightly awkward silence before Margaret said that if she needed anything to just call them and that she would bring everyone else by later.  
  
"OK. Bye Mom." As she watched her mother leave she sighed and leaned her head back against her pillow so that she was looking up at the ceiling. She wished she and her mother could talk like she could with Missy. There was a knock on the door and Dana said, "Come in."  
  
Tentatively Fox stepped into the room. Dana lifted up her head. When she saw who it was she sat up quickly and hoped she didn't look too awful in the drab hospital gown.  
  
"Hey. How are you?" he asked.  
  
"Ok I guess. My legs itch something awful, but otherwise all right. Um, I never got a chance to thank you and your sister for what you did. So, thanks."  
  
"No problem. I uh, I got you something." From behind his back Fox pulled out a stuffed green alien with a small white t-shirt that read "Take Me To Your Leader" in glowing green letters. "I'm not very good at picking out presents for girls," he mumbled.  
  
"I love it," said Dana, hugging the little thing close to her chest. She moved her legs so she was sitting cross-legged underneath the sheets. "You can sit down if you want," she said, indicating the end of the bed. "I'd offer you chair, but there aren't any in here."  
  
"Actually I have to go. I coach a little league team for five and six year olds and we have a game in a couple of days. Our last practice before then is in a few minutes."  
  
"Oh. Ok. That sounds neat," Dana said, a little disappointed he couldn't stay.  
  
"Yeah, well see you 'round." He turned to leave and then stopped. He turned around and said, "Do you want to go to my game? I mean, after you get out of here."  
  
Dana smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that..."  
  
"Fox."  
  
"I'd like that Fox."  
  
"Great. I'll pick you up around five..."  
  
"Dana."  
  
"See you at five Dana." He smiled at her and left, leaving her feeling as warm and fuzzy inside as the little green alien she hugged.  
  
************Kinda short, I know. Inspiration hasn't been my friend this weekend. Read it and Review it please! I love hearing what you think! ~ATX~ 


	3. Cherries and Stars

School has been a real pain in the butt and I just got around to starting this Wednesday night a week ago when I was supposed to be doing homework... so expect weekly updates pretty much from here on out. Thanks for being patient! ~ATX~  
  
**************  
  
One week later...  
  
"What to wear? What to wear?" Dana thought idly as she rummaged through her closet looking for something to wear to Fox's baseball game. Jeans were a given. Her legs still had the remnants of last week's adventure in the bushes and weren't looking too attractive right now. She pulled out a light blue button down top and held it up appraisingly against her and looked in the full-length mirror on the outside of her closet door.  
  
Charlie was watching her from the door, trying his best not to be noticed which wasn't too hard considering how his older sister was oblivious to everything but making a decision. Suddenly the urge to tease her became too much and he simply had to sing, "Dana's got a boyfriend! Dana's got a boyfriend!"  
  
"Charlie! I do not!" she cried as she whirled around, a rosy blush creeping up her face.  
  
"Then why are you blushing?"  
  
"Because I..."  
  
"Dana and Fox sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I- hey!" Charlie broke off his song when his older sister charged at him. He yelped in fright and took off down the stairs and ran straight outside into the yard. Dana was right behind him and called out, "When I get through with you'll wish you had never heard the word 'kiss'!" She side swept his feet and he tripped but kept his balance, barely, giving Dana time to tackle him to the ground. Somehow he ended up on top of her and looked down with a triumphant smile on his face.  
  
"You know that the only reason you're doing this is because you know I'm right," he taunted.  
  
"No, I'm doing this to teach you a lesson. Don't do it again." She twisted her body swiftly and knocked him off. She scrambled off of the ground and put one foot on his back, pressing down just hard enough so he couldn't move. "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Will you never learn? Don't mess with me." She got off him and started back to the driveway. She looked at herself and pulled a few leaves and bits of grass out of her hair, deciding that she would have to take a shower before Fox picked her up. There was applause coming from the end of the driveway and she saw Fox standing there.  
  
"Remind me not to make you angry," he said with a hint of a smile on his lips.  
  
"Is it five already?" she asked, worried she wouldn't be able to get cleaned up.  
  
"Almost. I was making sure I had all the equipment in the back of the truck and decided to stop and watch the show." He stepped closer to her and delicately plucked a few bits of grass from atop her head and let the wind blow them away.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Dana and Fox, sitting in a... ok, ok, I stopped!" Charlie cried when he saw Dana step menacingly toward him with her fist raised. He grinned and ran past her back into the house.  
  
"Well, I had better get cleaned up. See you in few minutes." Dana turned and walked back to the door. She turned the doorknob and pushed in, but the door wouldn't open. "Charlie! Open the door! I swear I'm gonna kill you!"  
  
"Can't kill me. What would everyone else say when they got back from the movie?" came a voice from the other side of the door.  
  
Dana let out a frustrated sound and turned around. Fox was watching with mild interest on his face. She forced a smile onto her face and said, "He's mad because mom and dad wouldn't let him go see that new R-rated movie." She turned and walked around to the side of her house, the one that faced Fox's house. There she pulled the screen off her window and slid it open. Fox followed and watched her. Her shoulders just reached the bottom of the windowsill. "Could you give me a boost?" she asked.  
  
"Sure." He laced his fingers together and she stepped up and into her room. When she was in, she said, "Thanks. I should be out in about ten minutes. Wait, make that fifteen. I need to do a little pest control here."  
  
"Ok." Fox shook his head in amusement as the fiery red head stormed into another part of the house yelling, "CHARLIE YOU ARE DEAD!"  
  
::Later that night::  
  
"We scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" A herd of elated five and six year olds trotted into the ice cream shop, wearing dusty and grass stained baseball uniforms. Dana and Fox followed behind them, with Dana carrying one of the five year olds who had a scraped knee and twisted ankle. They made their way up to the counter where the elderly man at the cash register was already ringing up the victorious team's order.  
  
"The usual Mulder?" he asked.  
  
"Yes sir, but his time add a... um, what was it again?" Fox turned to Dana.  
  
"Do you have something along the lines of nonfat tofutti rice dreamsicle?" she asked.  
  
The man, whose name was Bud Dana noticed, shook his head. "That we don't ma'am. We have sorbet and that's about as healthy as you can get here, but I can try and get some for next time if you like."  
  
"That's all right, you don't have to do that. I'll have the sorbet."  
  
"Ok. We have eleven sundaes, two with no nuts, three with no cherries, five with no whipped topping, and one with an extra cherry,"  
  
"That one's mine," Fox whispered to Dana.  
  
"And one sorbet. Is that correct?" finished Bud.  
  
"Correct as usual Bud," said Fox as he reached for his wallet.  
  
"That will be $21.60 please." Fox pulled the cash from his wallet and handed it over to the gray-haired man. "Aren't you going to introduce me to this lovely young lady Mulder?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Dana Scully meet Bud. Bud meet Dana Scully."  
  
"Pleasure," said Bud  
  
"Likewise," replied Dana.  
  
"So how much did you win by?" asked Bud as he counted out Fox's change.  
  
"We beat them by two runs, a last inning comeback. And a lot of dumb luck." After receiving the money Fox shepherded the boys over to a long table with room for everyone. Happily the boys talked about the recent victory and the major league teams, arguing who was going to win the World Series.  
  
As Dana put the injured boy carefully in his chair and made sure his foot was elevated she looked at Fox and asked, "Why did he call you Mulder?"  
  
"Oh, I don't really like it when people call me by my first name. I mean Fox is not a name you hear every day. I like to joke that my mother must have been on too much pain medication when she and dad named me."  
  
She stood up straight and sat down next to him with a worried look on her face. "Oh, I didn't know. I can call you Mulder if you would feel more comfortable..." she trailed off.  
  
"No." He put one of his hands over hers and he noticed how soft it was. A little tingle ran up Dana's arm. "No, I like it when you call me Fox." They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before they heard someone clearing their throat behind them. Bud was standing there with a large tray full of sundaes and one sorbet.  
  
"Ok guys, here you go! Two with no nuts," Bud began as he started passing out the treats. "Three with no cherry, five with no whipped topping, one with an extra cherry, and one sorbet."  
  
There was a general cry of excitement as then little boys happily dug into their dessert. Fox and Dana smiled at each other before devouring their own ice cream. Between mouthfuls Fox peppered Dana with questions.  
  
"So where're you from?"  
  
"My dad's in the Navy so we move around a lot. We never really stay in one place for more than three years, four if we're lucky." She licked the last of her sorbet from her plastic spoon and placed it on a napkin. "In fact my dad just left. He won't be back for six or seven months." For an instant she got a forlorn look in her eyes as she gazed out one of the windows. Then as soon as it appeared it was gone. She turned back to Fox and asked, "You?"  
  
"Lived here my whole life." He plucked one of his cherries out of the empty bowl and ate it, offering the other one to Dana. She took it and popped it in her mouth, stem and all.  
  
"You're not supposed to eat the stem," said one of the boys sitting across from her.  
  
Dana held up one finger and concentrated on her task. All the boys turned to see what she was doing. To them it looked like she was just moving her jaw around. Then she spit something out of her mouth and showed it to the guys. Rounds of "Wow!" and "That's cool!" went around as they saw the cherry stem that she had tied in a knot using her tongue.  
  
"Neat trick," said Fox.  
  
"Thanks. My older brother Bill taught me how to do it when we were kids. A looong time ago." There was a brief break in the continuous conversations going on around the table and Fox took that opportunity to say that it was time to go.  
  
"Come on guys, your parents are here," he said amidst the groans and complaints that it was a Friday night and they could stay out later. "No ifs, ands, or buts guys. Let's go. Don't forget to throw away your trash." Obediently the boys swarmed around the trashcan and threw away their napkins and empty ice cream cups.  
  
"Thanks Bud. See you later," called Fox as he and Dana guided the boys out the door.  
  
"Anytime Mulder. Goodbye Ms. Scully."  
  
"Bye Bud."  
  
Outside goodbyes and high fives were exchanged as the kids dispersed to their respective parents. When they were all gone, Fox turned to Dana and asked, "Do you have to be home right away?"  
  
"No, my curfew is midnight weekends. Why?"  
  
"I want to show you something," he said mysteriously. Intrigued, Dana followed him back to the truck. They drove for about fifteen minutes before Fox pulled into the parking lot of the park. They got out of the truck and Fox grabbed an old blanket, a flashlight, and a portable radio out of the bed of his truck.  
  
"Why are we here?" asked Dana as she followed Fox through the trees that lined the edge of the park.  
  
"I want you to see something," was all he would say. The flashlight cut through the darkness that was heightened underneath the trees. Suddenly they were out of the trees and at the base of a large hill. The moonlight bathed the grassy knoll in surreal colors and Dana was speechless at the beauty of the scene. "This is nothing," whispered Fox. Gently he led her up and spread the blanket out on the ground next to a large boulder that looked very out of place in the tranquil setting. He sat down with his back against it and turned on the radio softly. He motioned for Dana to sit down next to him and when she did, he whispered, "Now look up."  
  
Dana tilted her head back and stared in wonder at the sight before her eyes. Dozens of stars littered the night sky, glittering against the deep navy blue sky. "It's gorgeous," she murmured.  
  
"So are you," he said as he drank in the sight of her basking in the soft glow of the moon, the light glinting off her auburn hair and giving her sparkling azure eyes an extra spark. She turned to look at him and smiled shyly. He took her hand in his and they laced their fingers together, simply enjoying the company of the moon and starlight.  
  
********Ah, I'm a hopeless romantic. This chapter was a lot longer than I expected it to be. Read all the fluff you can now because Fox and Dana are in for a bumpy ride. Tell me what you think please! If nothing else it will help my morale! ~ATX~ 


	4. Mulder's Rock

Fox let himself in his house with a key on his glow-in-the-dark alien key ring. Quietly he crept through the house to the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of Sunny Delight. He was just about to start chugging it when the refrigerator door slammed shut. Startled, he choked and spilled the orange liquid all over his face and clothes.  
  
"Fox, where the he!! have you been! Do you know what time it is? It's midnight! How long does it take to play a baseball game and go out for ice cream?!" Samantha stood in front of him in her long nightgown, glowering at him.  
  
Fox wiped his mouth and said, "Hello to you too. It takes about two, three hours to play a baseball game and at least an hour and a half to go out for ice cream."  
  
"So what about the last two hours? What have you been doing?" Samantha followed Fox into the bathroom where he got a towel and started cleaning his face up.  
  
"Talking," he said.  
  
"Where? At the ice cream shop?"  
  
"I... I took her to the park."  
  
Samantha stared at him. "You took her to the park? Did you take her to our spot Fox? Did you take her up to Mulder's Rock?"  
  
"Sam I - " Fox tried to explain.  
  
She just stared at him, a look of shock, anger, and hurt on her face. "Fox, that was our spot. That was our special place, just for you and me."  
  
"Sam, I'm sorry," Fox started. Samantha whirled around and stalked off to her bedroom. Fox followed her into the dark room and saw her lying on her bed with her back to him. He walked over and saw down next to her. "Samantha, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. That's the thing about Dana, I just can't seem to think clearly when I'm around her."  
  
"Mom and Dad had another fight tonight," Samantha said quietly.  
  
"Oh Sam." Fox started rubbing her back and she turned to him, the light from the hall glinting off her tear-stained face. She sat up and crawled into his lap, grabbing some of his shirt in her fist.  
  
"Fox, what's gonna happen? Are Mom and Dad going to get a divorce?" She sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve.  
  
"I don't know Sam. I just don't know. But I do know that I'll always be here for you. Whenever you need me I'll be there."  
  
"Promise?" Samantha asked, looking up at her older brother.  
  
"Promise."  
  
::The Scully Residence::  
  
Dana closed the door quietly and went up the stairs, treading lightly so as not to wake anyone who was sleeping. She saw light from underneath Charlie's door and assumed he was watching tv, probably some show he wasn't supposed to be watching. Her mother's room was dark, but the guest room where Melissa was sleeping had a thin line of light showing underneath the door. She could hear Bill arguing with her about something, but didn't care to find out what it was. Instead she slipped back downstairs and into her room.  
  
Once she was dressed in her pajamas, a skin tight black t-shirt and black checked flannel pants, she got in bed and was about to turn out the light when she glanced out the window. She saw Fox moving around in his room, just kicking stuff around. Then he sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. Concerned, she got out of bed and opened her window. There was a flashlight sitting on her desk and she grabbed it, flashing the light into his room. He noticed it and came over to the window.  
  
"Hey," he said with a smile as he opened the window.  
  
"Hey yourself. What's wrong?" The houses were close enough together that they could talk without shouting.  
  
"Nothing." Dana raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I hurt Samantha's feelings tonight."  
  
"How?" Dana asked, concerned that she had done something.  
  
"That place I took you, it had been our special place, somewhere only the two of us went. We hadn't been there in a long time and I had assumed that she had not seen any significance in it anymore. I was wrong."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble."  
  
"No, no. It was my fault. Our parents have been fighting a lot lately and I should have known that she would be emotional about these things."  
  
"I'm sorry. I hope everything works out ok," Dana said, feeling extremely guilty.  
  
"It's ok. Really. Don't worry about it. She'll be ok by tomorrow."  
  
"If you're sure," she said.  
  
"I am. Good night Dana. Sweet dreams," he said as he saw her yawn.  
  
"Good night Fox." He smiled a reassuring smile at her and closed his window. Dana closed hers and crawled back into bed. She reached over and turned off her lamp, whispering, "Sweet dreams," as the room was shrouded in darkness.  
  
*************I did read Page 65 and I was shocked! My story and Doc's story are so similar it's eerie. Must be a conspiracy. ::looks around suspiciously:: Please know that I have the story all planned out and any strange coincidences are not copying. :) But man, that was weird! Anyways, I know this isn't a whole lot, but maybe it'll something to tide you over for awhile. Four day weekend from school=Time to write! I'm happy. Can ya tell? Read and Review please! 


	5. Tribond

New Years Eve, New Hampshire, Scully Family's Cabin, 8:30 pm  
  
"Ok Charlie, answer this one: What do the British Army in the Revolutionary War, Santa Claus, and Carmen San Diego have in common?" Melissa peered ruthlessly over the Tribond card in her hand. Dana leaned over her shoulder to look at the answer.  
  
"Come on Charlie, you know this!" Dana smiled and sat back down in her spot. She looked at her family, everyone sitting on the floor around the coffee table in the living room of the small cabin. Every year they came here for Christmas and New Years. Playing Tribond was a new tradition started when Charlie was old enough to understand it.  
  
"Hang on a minute Dana, let me think!" Charlie insisted, scrunching his face up. Dana rolled her eyes and looked at the phone hopefully.  
  
"Waiting for a call Starbuck?"  
  
"What?" She whipped her head around to see her father smiling knowingly at her.  
  
"That's the fifth time you've looked over at the phone in the last hour. Why don't you just go call him."  
  
Dana got up and kissed her father on the cheek. "Thanks Ahab." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the portable phone off the charger, taking it into her room so no eavesdropping older brothers could overhear.  
  
Sitting on her bed, she dialed Fox's number. He was supposed to call her earlier, but hadn't. Absently she tugged at the end of one of her braids and glared at the new split ends she found.  
  
"Hello, you've reached the Mulder residence. We aren't here to take your call, but please leave a message and if we know you we'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
Dana sighed and was about to press the end button when she heard clicks on the line. "Fox? Hello?" The dial tone rang as the line went dead. She put down the phone and bit her bottom lip for a minute, trying to decide what to do. Her decision made, she sprang from the bed and quietly opened the door, creeping silently down the hallway. In the living room she could hear that her family had gone on with the game. She slipped on her boots and winter coat and grabbed the keys to the car. She was nearly to the door when her father came up behind her.  
  
"Where do you think you're going Starbuck?"  
  
Slowly Dana turned around and looked up into her father's face. "Dad, I think Fox is in trouble. He was supposed to call tonight and he didn't, but when I tried calling him there were these weird clicks on the line. Please Dad, I need to go."  
  
"Dana, you don't know that. He probably just forgot to call or couldn't because of the storm."  
  
"I know it in here," she said, putting her hand over her heart. "Please? He's home alone with Samantha, his parents are away and if he's hurt Sam might not know what to do."  
  
Her father sighed and said, "Alright Starbuck. But I'm going to be very worried if you're not back by midnight young lady."  
  
"Yes sir. Thank you Ahab." She gave him a hug and he kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Be careful driving! The roads are getting icy."  
  
"I will. Bye!" Dana pulled on her blue and white snowflake patterned winter hat and gloves as she walked out the door and got into the car. She waved good-bye to Ahab as she pulled out of the driveway and began heading back to Maryland, praying that she was wrong about Fox.  
  
::Mulder Residence, 8:30pm::  
  
The wind blew icy air through the open door and raised goosebumps on the fallen young man's arms. Snow began falling, slow at first and then harder, the snowflakes getting larger and bringing hail with them that washed into the foyer. The phone lay on the floor, off the hook next to his hand. A bit of blood pooled underneath his head and stained the beige carpet. His lips slowly turned blue as the cold air continued to assault him mercilessly. Nothing stirred in the silent house except for the door, swaying in the howling wind on a cold winter's night.  
  
**********  
  
That's it for this chapter. Writers block sucks! Kudos to anyone who can guess the answer to the Tribond question! ~ATX~ 


	6. Abducted

Dana pulled into the Mulder's driveway around 11:30 at night; thankful she had made it there in one piece. The roads were awful, iced over and the heavy snow falling didn't help either. She looked to the front door and saw it flailing in the wind, smacking against the frame but never latching. Her eyebrows drew together in concern, creating little worry lines between them. Fumbling for a minute with her seatbelt and the lock on the car door, she finally made it out of the car and ran up to the screen door, knocking loudly on it. Peering in she could see that hardly any lights were on.  
  
"Hello? Fox? Samantha?" Hearing no reply she opened the door and shivered; the temperature inside was nearly as cold as it was outside. She closed the door and called out, "Is anyone here?" She walked through the house, checking the kitchen and living room first. The TV in the living room was on, the countdown in Times Square with the volume on mute. A spilled bowl of popcorn lay upside down on the tan shag carpet. Throw pillows were tossed everywhere and a couple cans of soda were lying on their sides, a dark stain the only remnants of the fizzy contents. "Fox?" Dana called his name louder this time, her voice edged with the tiniest bit of fear. "Sam?"  
  
A low moan reached her ears. Whirling around, she ran from the living room into the hallway. Down at the far end, near his bedroom and a small end table holding a phone, Fox began stirring from his position on the floor. "Oh, Fox," she whispered as she ran to him.  
  
Fox let out another moan and opened his eyes to see a worried Dana kneeling over him. "Oh. I feel. Like-"  
  
"Shh, don't talk." She restrained him as he tried to turn over onto his back. "No, don't move. I don't know if anything is wrong yet."  
  
"I'll tell you what's wrong. Something came and took Samantha." He grabbed her tiny hands and moved them away from his shoulders, startling her with the cold radiating from them. Pushing himself up with his hands, he winced and began shivering as the full effects of being exposed to 30- degree weather for hours began to take their toll.  
  
"What do you mean 'something' took her? Fox, you're bleeding," Dana said, touching his forehead lightly and showing him the blood on her fingertips. "And you're freezing. How long have you been like this?" She got up off the floor and retrieved a blanket from his room and wrapped it around him before heading off to the bathroom.  
  
"I dunno. What time is it?" He reached up and tentatively touched the nasty cut above his right eye.  
  
"Its around 11:30," Dana said, searching for the first aid kit. When she found it she brought it back to where Fox was sitting and began cleaning up his cut.  
  
"Sam was taken, taken by..."  
  
"Who took her Fox? What happened?"  
  
"Ouch! That hurts." He jerked away from her and bumped against the end table, shaking the phone out of its cradle and making it drop to the floor. Both teenagers stared at it for a moment before realizing that no dial tone was coming out of it. "I didn't hang up the phone earlier."  
  
"Fox," Dana said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.  
  
"Yeah?" Both were still staring at the phone. "What?"  
  
"Fox, this is a crime scene. We need to call the police."  
  
"Yeah. We do." Neither could look away from the silent phone, as if just realizing the seriousness of the situation they were in.  
  
"Come on, we can't stay here. Lets go." Dana helped him up off the floor and out to the car.  
  
"Why can't we just go to your house?" he asked as he got into the passenger side of the car.  
  
"I don't have a key and we've been gone for almost a week; the heat hasn't been on. It's probably colder in the there than it is out here. We're going to the police," she said grimly, turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway slowly.  
  
Halfway there Dana saw a police car following them with flashing lights. She pulled over and waited impatiently for the officer to come to her window. Rolling down the window was the last thing she wanted to do; Fox was just getting warm again. The officer outside the car knocked on the window, knocking some frost off as well.  
  
"Evening Ms. Scully, Mr. Mulder. What are you all doing out here at midnight? It's almost past curfew you know."  
  
"Officer Bandy, we were on our way to the police station. Samantha's missing and Fox was knocked out. The phone lines have been cut and the door was left open."  
  
"Hold on there Dana, slow down. Are you trying to say Sam's been kidnapped?"  
  
"Abducted," said Fox quietly. "She was abducted by aliens." 


	7. Fox! Fox help me!

::New Years Day, 12:11am::  
  
Bud came into the Mulder's house, searching for Dana and Fox amidst the policemen everywhere, dusting for prints and examining the crime scene. "Bud, over here," Dana called. He made his way over to the kitchen where they were seated at the table. Fox looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion and Dana didn't look much better.  
  
"Thanks for coming Bud," she said, getting up to give him a hug. "The storm is worse where Fox's parents are. We still can't reach them. The police won't let us drive back to my family and we have nowhere to stay tonight."  
  
"No problem Dana," he said, returning the gesture. "Mulder, you ready to go? Mulder?"  
  
Slowly Fox looked at him and nodded mutely. He grabbed a bag from off the floor and stood up, following Bud and Dana out the door. As they got into Bud's car he gave one last look at Samantha's window, seeing police walking around in her room, going through her things. He turned away and stared hard at the seat in front of him, trying to mentally bore holes in the fabric.  
  
He shuddered as he felt someone touch his arm lightly. Quickly Dana drew back her hand, afraid she had done something wrong. She looked away with tears in her eyes; all she had wanted to do was help. Both resumed their previous activities of staring, whether out the window or at the seat, as Bud watched sadly in the rearview mirror.  
  
::Bud's house, 3:42am::  
  
Dana lay on the couch, curled up into a little ball with her knees drawn as close to her chest as possible. A thick blanket covered her and kept her warm. Bud had let her borrow some of his niece's pajamas that she had left the last time she had come to visit. Fox was sleeping in the guest room reluctantly, having wanted her to have the real bed, but she insisted he take it.  
  
Sniffling, she wiped a stray tear off her cheek. She had been able to call her parents and let them know what was happening, but there wasn't anything they could do right then. The roads were getting worse and were definitely unsafe for driving.  
  
A creaking of floorboards drew her out of her reverie and she bolted up, looking around for the source of the noise. Fox was standing at the end of the couch by her feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."  
  
"It's ok. What's up?"  
  
'Stupid question Dana,' she thought to herself.  
  
"You don't believe me," he said flatly as he sat down next to her.  
  
"I believe that you believe what you think you saw."  
  
"Dana I told you what happened! I was walking down the hall to answer the phone and I heard Samantha scream. She kept screaming and screaming my name over and over, like it was the only thing keeping her on the earth. I had the phone in my hand as I tried to turn around when someone hit me on the back of the head. And I-"  
  
"Only caught a glimpse of figure surrounded in bright light, an alien-like figure. I know Fox. But did it occur to you that it could have been a hallucination? You have an alien poster on your door, the way you were facing when you were hit. Your brain may have seen the image and subconsciously imprinted it into your memory as the last thing you saw."  
  
"I know what I saw. I know. What I saw," he said angrily, more to himself than to anyone else.  
  
"Alright," she said softly, once again placing a hand on his arm. He didn't jerk away this time. "You saw something."  
  
Fox turned his head away from her and drew in a shuddering breath. Tenderly she reached up and pulled his face back to hers, wiping away the tears falling down his face wit her thumb. "Don't be afraid to cry in front of me," she whispered. He started crying harder.  
  
"She just kept screaming, calling out for me. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't save her. I can still hear her."  
  
"It's ok. There was nothing you could have done. We'll find her Fox. Someday we will find her."  
  
They sat together on the couch like that for hours, just holding each other, crying together, and finally falling asleep as the sun rose on the snowy horizon. That was how Bud found them that morning, huddled together and sleeping peacefully for the moment, a moment that would be over all too soon.  
  
****************  
  
You guys rock! Keep the reviews rolling in please. :) Y'all get two chapters today. I felt like being nice. My mom probably wants to kill me right now because I've just spent two hours writing this instead of doing school. Oops. But hey, you can't ignore the muse when it calls! 


	8. Graduation

Summer- Graduation Day  
  
The sun warmed her face as she turned it heavenward, her fair skin soaking in the rays. A small smile graced her lips, a rarity these days, and her eyes were closed in the bliss of the moment. She heard footsteps approaching and raised an eyebrow, eyes still closed, as she said, "Its alright, you can come over here."  
  
Dana opened her eyes and smiled as Fox sat down beside her on the stone bench. Both looked straight ahead into the plant life surrounding them in the courtyard of the high school. It was small, but the brilliant, pacifying colors could soothe the most restless soul. Students were allowed to come before and after school. The teachers, the usual inhabitants, came during lunch for a few minutes to gather themselves before their next class and occasionally joined some of the students before school. The stone bench they were currently occupying was facing a small reflecting pool, ripples dancing across its surface as the breeze stirred the ferns alongside it, causing their leaves to dip and swirl.  
  
"You know, I thought if I wished hard enough this day would never come," Dana said with a soft laugh. "You wouldn't be leaving for Oxford tomorrow, I wouldn't be on my way to medical school."  
  
"If I could I would stay here with you. I think the time away from this place will be good."  
  
"I know, I know." She looked down at her hands and brushed a few fallen flower petals off her graduation gown. Neither said a word as the events of the past year raced through their minds, all the suspicion, the hatred, the arguing, the pain from losing Samantha, their growing feelings for each other played in their minds.  
  
"But," he continued. "But I don't want to loose you."  
  
Dana looked up at Fox resolutely and said, "You won't." They shared an intense gaze for a moment, as if by simply looking into each other's eyes they could see into the very depths of each other's soul. And who knows, maybe they could. Slowly they leaned closer together, gently brushing lips for the first time. Fox deepened the kiss and Dana put her arms around the back of his neck as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.  
  
Someone clearing their throat behind them made them break their kiss, but not the embrace. "Dana may I have a word with you?" Bill glared at Fox as his younger sister sighed and reluctantly got up. He pulled her deeper into the courtyard behind a row of large ferns and proceeded to speak his mind. Angry voices could be heard from behind the foliage as the two siblings argued about something indistinguishable from Fox's place on the stone bench.  
  
"Fox?" He turned at the sound of someone calling his name. Mr. and Mrs. Scully were walking over to him with puzzled expressions on their faces. "Are Dana and Bill here?" Mrs. Scully asked.  
  
"Yeah, they're uh, exchanging words behind those big ferns over there."  
  
"Bill and Dana never were ones to get along. She and Melissa always were closer," remarked Mr. Scully.  
  
"Maybe I should go and break up whatever they're arguing about," said Mrs. Scully, already moving toward the voices. He husband put a hand on her arm to stop her.  
  
"No, Maggie. Starbuck can take care of herself."  
  
All three looked to the back of the courtyard as the argument heated up a little more.  
  
"Bill, I appreciate your concern, but my life and who I date is entirely my business, not yours. I'm not the child who would do whatever you said because you were older; I'm eighteen now."  
  
"Well you're certainly not acting like it. Dana, that boy out there is trouble. His sister is missing and all he can say is aliens abducted her! I've never trusted him and neither should you." Bill was gesturing wildly with his arms, his face turning as red as Dana's hair.  
  
"Its not his fault Samantha is missing! He saw something and whether or not it was aliens the fact remains that Samantha was taken and they still can't find her."  
  
"I can't believe it! Dana Scully, the skeptical one in the family, believing aliens abducted her boyfriend's younger sister. That's a load of crap and you know it."  
  
"Can you prove it wasn't? Can you prove for certain that Samantha just ran away of her own accord or someone kidnapped her? There was no forced entry, the neighbors never saw anyone, and all that the police found was an injured teenager and spilled popcorn and soda. No one knows what happened that night." Dana stood her ground firmly as her brother grabbed for words. After a few moments of opening and closing his mouth, she said, "I didn't think so."  
  
The two stared at each other for a moment before Dana whispered, "Bill, why can't you just be happy for me? Please?" Bill just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. Dana wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her into a bear hug.  
  
"I just - you're my younger sister. I don't want anything to happen to you." She was so tiny compared to him, he thought, feeling as if he could just pick her up and carry her over his shoulder with ease.  
  
"Nothing is going to happen to me Bill." She looked up at him and her crystal blue eyes pleaded with his. "Can you at least pretend to be happy for me? Just for today? For Mom and Dad?"  
  
Bill gave a short laugh and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah. I think I could do that for today."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Does that mean tomorrow I can go back to being a pain the @$$?" Bill asked as he turned to go out the back door.  
  
"Bill!" Dana exclaimed, punching his arm playfully on her way back to Fox. She pushed aside a massive leaf and walked back to the stone bench they had been occupying earlier. He was sitting there, staring at the reflecting pool.  
  
"Your parents said they'd be sitting in the front row if you two decided you wanted to come out," he said, not breaking his look.  
  
"Where're your parents?"  
  
"I don't know. They said they'd be here in time, but you never know. Downtown traffic can be bad this time of day."  
  
"Why are they downtown?" Dana's eyebrows drew together in confusion and two little worry lines appeared between them.  
  
"I didn't tell you? They're finalizing their divorce today."  
  
"Oh Fox, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's ok. They've been fighting for a long time now. Samantha disappearing was just the icing on the cake." He turned to look at her and said, "I guess they'll just have to say congratulations over dinner, if they can stand to be in the same room together." There was a slight pause in the conversation before Fox smiled and stood up, pulling Dana along with him. "Come on, are we gonna graduate today or not?"  
  
He grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the door, but she resisted and pulled him back to her. "Hey you, bend down," Dana commanded. He obliged and she planted a long, sweet kiss on his mouth. When they finally pulled apart she looked deep into his eyes and said, "I love you."  
  
"I know," he said, grinning and pulling her in for another kiss.  
  
Dana was about to close her eyes when Bud came rushing in. "Come on you love birds, the ceremony's starting!" He left after the two promised they'd be along in a minute.  
  
"Shall we?" Fox held out his arm and Dana took it, wrapping hers around his and catching his fingers with her own. As they walked out of the courtyard, they could be heard promising to write twice a day, calling three times a day, and never forgetting to visit during vacations. Promises everyone makes, but not all keep. 


	9. Mistletoe

December 24 - Four years later  
  
"I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue just thinkin' about you."  
  
Elvis wailed out of the small radio perched on top of the kitchen counter. In the next room Dana sat on the tattered loveseat, her feet tucked underneath her. Despite the gray woolen socks her mother knitted for her last winter that were adorning her feet her toes were still frozen. She spooned more yogurt out of the small carton in her hand and licked the spoon, wondering when her roommate Ashley would arrive back from the grocery store.  
  
"Speak of the devil," she thought as she heard a key turning in the lock on the door. Tall and blond, Ashley came in through the door with two sacks of paper grocery bags, one in each arm. She shook her head and from her short bob fresh snow fell to the ground, melting on the wooden floor. Using her foot to slam the door, Ashley leaned back against it and exhaled loudly.  
  
"My gosh it's snowing hard out there!" She shivered and walked into the mini kitchen in the small two-bedroom apartment. "I'm guessing that our gracious landlord has not fixed the heating on our floor?" she called, gesturing at Dana's sweats and the comforter surrounding her, as she unloaded the groceries for the week. She glanced over at her friend through the serving window and saw her take another bite of her yogurt.  
  
"Correct. It also seems that our landlord is not answering his phone or his door. Kenny and Murphy next door are threatening to break it down if something isn't done soon."  
  
Ashley snorted and said, "I'd like to see that."  
  
Elvis ended his blue Christmas and a new song began playing. "Met my old lover at the grocery store..."  
  
"NO!" Dana moaned as Dan Fogelburg came through on the radio. "Is this Make Dana Feel Miserable Day? Did someone forget to tell me?" She threw the empty yogurt carton through the window, nearly creaming Ashley, where it landed upside down on top of the old radio. Daintily Ashley threw it into the small trashcan in the kitchen and changed the radio station, wiping up some of the yogurt that had oozed out.  
  
"I'm guessing that Fox did not call?"  
  
Dana sighed and absently played with the hair band on her wrist. "No he didn't. I tried calling his dorm, but they guys said they didn't know where he was, that he left early yesterday morning with a duffel bag and coat. No one's seen or heard from him since." She stopped playing with the hair band and instead gathered up her hair and put it in a messy bun, not caring about the wisps of hair falling around her face. "Ashley, what if he doesn't love me anymore? What if he's met some leggy English brunette at Oxford and isn't coming back ever?"  
  
Ashley opened the refrigerator and said, "Dana, what happened to all the yogurt? There were 6 left this morning before I went shopping." She closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer, grabbing two fudgesicles out. Then she came into the tiny living room and plopped down on the love seat next to her roommate.  
  
"I though binging on yogurt instead of chocolate would be more friendly to my figure over the holidays," Dana admitted sheepishly.  
  
"Take it from someone who's had lots of experience with men, chocolate may not be as forgiving, but it sure tastes a heck of a lot better than sugar free yogurt. Eat up," Ashley said, handing one of the fudge bars to her. "At least we don't have class again until after this storm passes through. I saw Professor Gillridge at the store and he said that half the teachers wouldn't be able to make it back until late next week, so there's a pretty good chance class will be cancelled until the week after New Years possibly."  
  
"Storm?"  
  
"You know, the reason why it's been snowing practically nonstop all morning? The blizzard that's supposed to hit late tonight? The one everyone's been talking about nonstop for weeks but no one actually believed would hit us?"  
  
"Oh. Right." Dana licked a bit of the bar that had melted and run down the side of hand, leaving a sticky dark trail. "I can't believe he didn't call. I mean we've called each other at least once a month, sometimes twice a month, for the past four years. He came to visit on my birthday earlier this year. I just talked to him last month and everything was fine."  
  
Ashley rolled her eyes when Dana wasn't looking. She had it bad for him, that was for sure. She had met Fox when he came for Dana's birthday. He was a nice guy; they were obviously smitten with each other. It didn't seem like him to just disappear on her during Christmas. Then again, she'd only met the guy once.  
  
A loud noise from outside startled them and they jumped, instinctively looking toward the window. Ashley stood up and walked over to it, drawing the blinds up and opening the window.  
  
"Ashley, close the window! It's freezing outside."  
  
"And it's not in here? I just want to hear what this guy with the pickup truck is blasting through his radio."  
  
"I'll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me." came wafting in through the open window.  
  
Grinning, Ashley turned back to Dana and said, "Dana, I think your Christmas present has arrived from England."  
  
Dana sat there for a moment, not comprehending what Ashley was saying. Then her eyes lit up. "I'm gonna kill him!" Without putting on shoes or a coat she ran out the door and down the hall to the stairs, nearly knocking over Kenny in her frantic effort to get downstairs. Puzzled, he asked Ashley, "What's with her?"  
  
Ashley just smiled and said, "Her boyfriend came over from England without telling her. She thought he'd broken up with her."  
  
"Ouch. The wrath of Scully is not something any man should take lightly. This I gotta see." Together the two of them watched out one of the windows as a small red-headed figure ran out of the building and headed straight for a tall, dark-haired figure.  
  
Outside Dana was oblivious to the cold and snow as she sprinted the guy walking down the walkway to the apartment building. "Fox!" She hurled herself onto him and knocked him over.  
  
"I missed you too," Fox said, looking up at Dana who was on top of him and grinning like the Cheshire cat. She didn't say anything, only leaned down to kiss him soundly on the lips. When they finally broke it off he said, "Wow, if that's the welcome I get outside I can't wait until we're under some mistletoe."  
  
"Who needs mistletoe?" she said, leaning down for another kiss.  
  
"Hey Scully! Why don't you and your man get a room huh?" Dana and Fox looked up to see Kenny and Ashley grinning from the open window in her apartment.  
  
"Just because you don't have a girl this Christmas does not mean the rest of us have to miserable Kenny," she called.  
  
"I've got me a girl, she just doesn't know it yet."  
  
"Oh yeah? Who?"  
  
"Your roommate Ashley."  
  
"In your dreams Kenny," said Ashley.  
  
"Hey, a guy can try can't he?"  
  
"Who's that?" whispered Fox in Dana's ear.  
  
"Our next door neighbor Kenny. He and his friend Murphy are both in Ashley and my pathology class. Kenny is notorious for one night stands and two week girlfriends."  
  
"Why does he call you Scully?"  
  
"Because the professors insist we call each other Doctor and addressing each other by last names. Kenny just believes in doing it in and out of school. Unless he's trying to get on your good side."  
  
"Ah. Well as much as I love making snow angels with you out here," he said, smiling, "I am getting kinda cold."  
  
"I'll warn you, the heating is non-existent on my floor," she said, helping Fox up.  
  
"Well then we'll just have to snuggle up close together," Fox said with a little leer. He started up to the door, but before he got there something cold, wet, and hard hit him on the back of his head. Slowly he turned around, jaw set, to see a smirking Dana standing with another snowball in her hand.  
  
"That was for not calling." She threw the other snowball and despite Fox's efforts to duck still nailed him right in the chest.  
  
"And what was that for?" he asked, dusting snow off his jacket.  
  
She shrugged and said, "Cause you're just good lookin'."  
  
"Uh huh. Well 'Scully', I'll have to introduce you to something we used to do back at home." He started advancing toward her and she backed away, screaming at him to stay away from her. Fox only grinned harder and gathered her up in his arms, dumping her unceremoniously in a large snowdrift. For the next half hour they threw snowballs at each other, ducking behind trees and bushes until the cold finally caught up with Dana and they retreated inside.  
  
::Later::  
  
Once again Dana was bundled up in the comforter on the love seat, but this time it wasn't Ashley who was sharing the couch, but Fox. She was lying in front of him, spooned up against his warm body underneath the cozy blanket. A Christmas Carol had long since ended and a Christmas program was currently playing on the small television in front of them in the darkened apartment. Both college students slept peacefully in each other's arms. Unnoticed above them a small sprig of mistletoe hung with a note attached.  
  
Merry Christmas Dana! I knew that you two don't really need mistletoe, but I thought I'd add a little culture to your lives tonight. Traditionally you pick off one berry for every kiss you exchange under the mistletoe until they're all gone. What you do after that is your decision, but I've decided to visit my parents for the rest of the week before the storm hits. So... have fun! --Ashley  
  
********  
  
Yes! I got it done and posted before Christmas!!! ::does happy dance:: Hope y'all liked the Christmas chapter, I had a blast writing it. No offence to the King, Fogelburg, and whoever owns "I'll Be Home For Christmas". I'm just borrowing the lyrics. Schoolwork has me bogged down. In fact I just spent the better part of my day reading the last 20 chapters of Jane Eyre that I was supposed to have done last week and writing an essay on it. Blah. But X-Files always cheers me up! Happy Holidays to you and yours! 


End file.
